In a major blow to the Narendra Modi government, the Gujarat high court censured it Wednesday for “inaction and negligence” in the 2002 post-Godhra riots, saying this resulted in an “anarchic” situation.
Passing strictures on the state government, the court said: “The Gujarat government’s inadequate response and inaction resulted in an anarchic situation, which continued unabated for days”.
A division bench of Justices Bhaskar Bhattacharya (acting chief justice) and J.B. Pardiwala, ordering compensation for over 500 religious structures damaged in that period, observed: “The state cannot shirk its responsibilities.” Saying the government had been “negligent”, it added: “Because of this there was large-scale destruction of religious properties”.
The bench, hearing a petition filed by the Islamic Relief Committee of Gujarat (IRCG), ordered the principal judges of the state’s 26 districts to receive applications for compensation in their respective districts and take a decision, which they should communicate to the high court within six months.
IRCG lawyer M.T.M. Hakim hailed the “landmark judgment”, saying it was “probably the first time a court had held the state government responsible for inaction in the 2002 riots”.